LOJ #206: ‘Accountable to Jesus Pt. 1’ Andover Baptist Church-November 10th, 2013 Opening A. Text for today is Luke 19:11-13 and our sermon is titled Accountable to Jesus
B. Scripture NET:
“ 11 While the people were listening to these things, Jesus proceeded to tell a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately. 12 Therefore He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.13 And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.’
C. Introduction (SLIDE)
1. Bring big photography clock for intro- have it counting down (couple of minutes)
2. Represents life….ticking away
a. The average American lives to be 79 years old b. That is 28,835 days c. 692,040 hours d. 41,522,400 minutes e. 2,491,344,000 seconds
3. There is a chance that I might officiate at your funeral, some of you might attend mine
4. The inevitable is going to happen one day this clock will stop
5. And we will be accountable to Christ for the life He as the Author of Life gave to us 6. Are you ready to face Him when your clock stops? (CLOCK GOES OFF)
Sermon
READ: Luke 19:11 (Scripture slide)
“While the people were listening to these things, Jesus proceeded to tell a parable, because He was near to Jerusalem, and because they thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.”
A. We are picking up from the scene we found Christ at last time
1. Jesus has been traveling through New Jericho and if you recall happens upon Zacchaeus in a tree
2. He has invited Himself to Zacchaeus’ home and has exclaimed that salvation has come to his home
3. In the midst of this same crowd who witnessed the conversation with Zacchaeus, Jesus tells this parable to illuminate the Kingdom of God
B. We are given by Luke the two reasons that Jesus has decided to teach this parable
1. First it is because Jesus is ‘near to Jerusalem’
2. And secondly the crowd ‘thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately’
C. Those who were hanging their hope on Jesus being a political king were going to be sorely disappointed when He will be tried and crucified 1. Their preconceived notions of what was going to take place in Jerusalem had no bearing on God’s plan for His Son 2. They thought that with Jesus going to Jerusalem on this Passover He would set up an earthly rule as the Messiah
3. In order to understand their beliefs on the Messiah, we first have to know what the Kingdom of God is
a. Simply it is God’s all-powerful rule over the earth b. This re-conquest, so to speak, began with the earthly ministry of Jesus
c. It was an important part of Jesus’ Gospel message
Matthew 4:23 (NET) “Jesus went throughout all of Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of disease and sickness among the people.”
d. Unfortunately the Jews didn’t grasp that this conquest was not going to be consummated, or completed, until after the crucifixion and return of Jesus
Revelation 11:15 (NET) “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven saying: “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign for ever and ever.” 4. The most widely accepted beliefs about the Coming of the Christ was totally wrong and they missed Him!
a. It was believed that the Messiah would reveal Himself and His kingdom in Jerusalem
b. It was also widely believed that this violent overthrow of the powers that be would take place during the Passover feast c. In their mind this fit: The Passover symbolized God freeing the Jews from the tyranny of Egypt, so surely He would use it to free them from the tyranny of Rome d. The word immediately means just that: the Messiah would show up in Jerusalem and BAM the kingdom of God would come!
e. So here is this crowd thinking Jesus is going to go Jerusalem and in the middle of the Passover Feast announce Himself, rally the people and miraculously defeat Rome
f. Jesus dispels these rumors
5. There will be no doubt when the Kingdom of God appears triumphantly
Zechariah 14:3–5 (NET) “3 Then the Lord will go to battle and fight against those nations, just as he fought battles in ancient days.4 On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives which lies to the east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in half from east to west, leaving a great valley. Half the mountain will move northward and the other half southward.5 Then you will escape through my mountain valley, for the mountains will extend to Azal. Indeed, you will flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of King Uzziah of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come with all his holy ones with him.”
2 Thessalonians 2:1–3 (NET) “1 Now regarding the arrival of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered to be with him, we ask you, brothers and sisters,2 not to be easily shaken from your composure or disturbed by any kind of spirit or message or letter allegedly from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord is already here. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not arrive until the rebellion comes and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction.”
READ: Luke 19:12 (Scripture slide)
“ Therefore He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.”
A. Jesus’ parable centers around ‘a nobleman’ 1. The NIV words this as ‘a man of noble birth’
2. It means a person with high rank and with considerable influence, power and wealth
3. One who is a ‘nobleman’ is a rightful heir and claimant to the throne
4. A prince
5. This nobleman is none other than Jesus Himself, Who we are told in Scripture is the Prince of Peace
Isaiah 9:6 (NET) “For a child has been born to us, a son has been given to us. He shoulders responsibility and is called: Extraordinary Strategist, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”
B. This Nobleman embarked on a lengthy journey to receive for Himself a kingdom 1. In world of today a nobleman could step onto a jet in the morning and touch his foot in the world with in hours
2. Not so here, this was going to be a long arduous journey to a ‘distant country’
3. Similar to when the Prodigal Son went to blow his undeserved in heritance in a distant country, but in this case for noble and royal reasons
4. When the nobleman arrived in that country he would formally receive the power and right to rule 5. The wording indicates that this is a lawful action not one in sinful rebellion or by brute force…the Nobleman has full rights to take upon Himself the leadership of this kingdom 6. In essence the Nobleman was a King in waiting and upon His arrival in the distant country would be given the crown and would become King
7. But at this moment the nobleman’s kingship is not yet recognized by the people
8. And the very great and high price for the kingdom has yet to be paid, but it will cost the Prince dearly
9. Friends this is a picture of Jesus Himself in His Incarnation, His first coming
a. Although He is the rightful Heir, He came first and foremost as a Servant
b. Not to be served but to serve us by His death on the cruel cross of Calvary
c. At this moment in His life He is on His way to pay the ransom price for His subjects by His Own suffering and blood
d. After this would come His royal coronation by the Father and His rightful rule begin
Ephesians 1:20–23 (NET) “20 This power he exercised in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms21 far above every rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. 22 And God put all things under Christ’s feet, and he gave him to the church as head over all things.23 Now the church is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.” e. But at this moment neither the disciples nor the crowd understand that this coronation will not take place in a street bloodied by the blood of the Roman legions but in the throne room of Heaven
C. Jesus indicates that the Nobleman after leaving and receiving His kingdom will ‘then return’
1. The wording literaly means ‘to turn back’
2. Friends one day Jesus is going leave heaven and ‘turn back’ to take control of what is rightfully His
3. This second time He will not come like a Lamb to the slaughter, but as a Lion
4. To His servants it will be a joyous occasion to those who oppose Him it will be the most dreadful and terrible of all days
5. What will it be for you?
READ: Luke 19:13 (Scripture slide)
“ And he summoned ten of his slaves, gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Do business with these until I come back.”
A. Before leaving on this trip the Nobleman ‘summoned ten of His slaves’
1. When a slave is summoned like this it a demand with the full authority of the Master and not an optional meeting
2. The word used for ‘slaves’ is very telling a. It represents a person who is legally owned by someone else b. A slave, or doulos, entire livelihood and purpose was determined by their Master
c. Sometimes slavery would be a temporary circumstance to pay a debt, but to be a doulos was a permanent appointment d. The will of a slaves’ Master oversees their will and they are totally dependent upon Him
e. The doulos had no rights that the Master did not give him, no property that the Master did not give him and even their own family belonged not to them but to the Master
f. A slave was the very bottom of the social ladder and no self-respecting, self-willed Jewish leader would willfully submit to that title
g. In fact the Rabbis taught that if a man called his neighbor a ‘doulos’ the insult was great enough to be excommunicated for it!
3. Who are these slaves? a. Anyone in whom Jesus is their Master and Lord
b. Jesus uses this term ‘slaves’ to show that there can be no service to Him that is not unconditional and total
c. God is not our servant, we are His!
d. Our lives are not our own, the perfect, holy will of Christ takes precedence over our own sinful self-will
e. Many a false convert claims Jesus with their mouth and shows their hatred of Him by their lives!
f. Jesus minced no words about who truly serves Him
John 12:26 (NET) “If anyone wants to serve me, he must follow me, and where I am, my servant will be too. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” g. If you are here today thinking that the indention you are making in your chair makes you saved and that you can come here and be saved without submitting your life to Christ, that chair will actually testify against you that you heard your responsibility to Jesus and yet left unchanged!
h. You cannot be a follower of Jesus and remain unbroken to Him and His will! You cannot claim Him as King and yet refuse to let Him sit on the throne of your lives!
B. Before the Nobleman left He presented these 10 slaves each with a mina
1. What is a mina? a. It is a Greek coin worth 100 Roman silver denarii
b. Basically it is worth a 100 days of wages
c. The Nobleman gave the 10 slaves a total of 1000 working days of pay to use
d. Now this would be a small amount for a nobleman to leave to run his affairs while he was gone
2. Each slave was given the same amount, the same responsibility to the Master
a. They each had 100 days’ worth of a normal man’s wages to invest (In America this would be equivalent to approximately $13,977 in 2013 money) b. Equal opportunity to do the Master’s business
c. They did not have to provide the means for this, it was given to them by the Master d. He has made an investment in them
3. May I say believers that Jesus has made a costly investment in us
a. He has purchased us with His body and blood
b. And deposited in us His Spirit to equip us to do His business
c. Every Christian from St. Paul, Luther, Billy Graham to you, if you are saved by Christ receive the same Spirit and the same Gospel message
d. The only difference is the job He has equipped you to do in His church and this world 1 Corinthians 12:7 (NET) “To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the benefit of all.”
1 Corinthians 12:11 (NET) “It is one and the same Spirit, distributing as he decides to each person, who produces all these things.”
Romans 12:6–8 (NET) “6 And we have different gifts according to the grace given to us. If the gift is prophecy, that individual must use it in proportion to his faith. 7 If it is service, he must serve; if it is teaching, he must teach; 8 if it is exhortation, he must exhort; if it is contributing, he must do so with sincerity; if it is leadership, he must do so with diligence; if it is showing mercy, he must do so with cheerfulness.”
C. After giving the slaves the minas the Nobleman gives them their instructions: ‘Do business with these until I come back’
1. They had a job to do while the Nobleman was gone
2. They were to take what was invested in them and do business for the Mater until He came back 3. The word for ‘do business’ indicates that they are to vigorously use it to turn a profit by investing it and managing it
4. He wants them without a shadow of a doubt to make a profit of each mina He has deposited into their hands, He did not want them to be idle and content with just one mina
5. If you were to boil this parable down to one word it would be stewardship
a. A steward is one who acts as a surrogate of another
b. We might say that the Nobleman made each slave the Power of Attorney for Him while He was a way (at least with His mina He left in their hands)
c. The Master was going to be gone for a good long time and in the meantime His slaves were to keep His enterprises operating with what He left them with
6. Little did they know but this was in affect a test, one that will see if the slaves will obey their Master and be trusted with even greater means of stewardship and responsibility
7. Would they take advantage of the opportunity given them?
D. I tell you that just as these slaves have been given a task from the Lord so to have you if you are a believer!
1. Christ has left no slave of His unequipped or with a valid excuse to not work for Him!
2. Jesus has given the church and the individuals who make her up the job of managing the Gospel message until He returns
3. There has been a delay between Jesus being crucified and His returning triumphantly and in that delay we are now in, He wants you and me to conduct His business until He returns!
4. We are not to be idle, but I fear this is exactly was is taking place in the Christianity of America today
a. We are not to be content with isolating ourselves with our little mina safely wrapped up in a hanky for safe keeping
b. We are not to come to church to be ministered to and have our little slave ears tickled and cooed it
c. No! Jesus has poured out His blood, He was nailed to a tree to give you the Gospel!
d. YOU are responsible for what He has placed in your hand, and when He returns He wants to see dividends added to the costly principle that purchased you!
e. Jesus did not call us to be entertained, lazy potentates but slaves bound to His Will for His business! f. We are each given a small amount of time, a mians worth perhaps. in which we are to take and reinvest it for the kingdom of our Master to secure for Him people for His kingdom
g. You are a steward of the life Jesus gave you
h. We are to do His business with our lives until that day He returns i. And when Jesus returns He is going to open up the registers of our lives and go line by line, minute by minute, breath by breath, day by day and examine what we have done with His business!
j. For some that will be a joyful accounting, for others a painful test
k. If Jesus were to return right now and say to you, ‘Open your life and show Me what you have done for Me?’, would you be ready?
Application (slide) A. You and I are to be faithful slaves of Christ B. Ironically it is only in becoming His slave that we can truly be set free from the bondage of our own sin, a cruel taskmaster in deed C. The question is: Are you a faithful slave of Christ? D. If you’re not His slave you are His enemy and that is the most perilous position anyone can be in, for at any moment you could be summoned before Him!
Invitation Let us sing our last song # ,
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